


This Is What I Live For

by orphan_account



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Asexual, Asexual Character, Asexuality, M/M, Niam - Freeform, ace - Freeform, coffeshop au, larry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-12
Updated: 2015-09-12
Packaged: 2018-04-20 11:24:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4785587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam is a uni student who spends his days working at a tea shop. Niall is a closeted asexual who doesn't know who to turn to. </p><p>Or</p><p>Liam spills hot tea on Niall</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Is What I Live For

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sunshinexbomb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshinexbomb/gifts).



> @sunshinexbomb due to some health issues I wasn't able to reach consensus the requirement of 4,000 words on time, so someone else is currently writing you a fic. However, I already had 3000+ written and figured why not post it. 
> 
> I'm so sorry love that I feel through! xx

Niall's POV

"Fucking hell!" I cursed as the scorching hot tea burned my chest. I had just been at the local coffee shop drive through when a /very/ attractive employee handed the tea to me through my window, but before I could grasp it he let go of the cup, sending it trickling down my white shirt. 

"Oh my god! I-I am so, so sorry! Uh, why don't you come inside and I can fix this mess! I could never forgive myself if I burned someone and let them drive away!" The man said, his face bright red, blushing in embarrassment. I nodded my way through a grimace. 

"Alright, mate. I'll park and then just ask for..." 

It took him a while to realize I was asking his name, and after fumbling his way through yet another apology, he explained that he called Liam. 

Liam...so that was the name of the undoubtedly attractive man. Somehow it seemed fitting. I gave a rushed goodbye before driving over to the car park, and turning into the first open spot. Turning the car off, I looked down to find my shirt soaked through and through. 

Well shit this is awkward. My shirt is completely see through. I banged my head on the steering wheel a few times to remind myself that I'll have to try extra hard to impress Liam with him being able to see my stomach. It wasn't really that bad, but it was definitely a sore spot for me. I sighed, ruffled my hair in the mirror one last time, and got out of the car. 

As soon as I walked in the door I wanted to turn around. People were giving me all kinds of looks, which I hoped was about my see through shirt, not me personally. I hopped in line, waiting my turn to ask for Liam. 

"Hello! Welcome to Simplicitea! What can I get for you today?" She seemed to be a bit younger than me, with long dark hair and a dazzling smile. If I was into girls I might've gone for her. 

"Uh, hi. I'm looking for Liam?" I asked hesitantly, avoiding eye contact so I wouldn't see the judgement in her eyes. 

"Ah yes! My, you are adorable! He told me you would be coming in! Just go straight and take a left when you reach the bathrooms. There is a door that says "Employees Only" and he'll be waiting for ya back there love! My name is Sophia. Just shout if you need anything!" I gave her a grateful smile and walked past the tables and chairs littered with mugs and tea cups. I shuffled past the queue for the toilets and knocked on the door Sophia directed me to. A flustered Liam opened the door with wide eyes and an apologetic smile. 

"Hey! Thanks for coming in, I really wanted to make sure you were alright. We've got a first aid kit stored back here in case these sorts of things happen. It's the least I can do after burning you and all." He explained, guiding me over to a small stool. He motioned for me to take a seat, and I obliged, watching as he took the first aid kit off of the top rack of a shelf. 

"So uh you are going to have to take off your shirt if you want me to like do damage control." Liam mumbled, his cheeks heating up from his obvious embarrassment. I let out a cough, making the atmosphere even more tense and nodded, grabbing the hem of my shirt before slowing lifting it over my head. 

My heart was beating erratically in my chest as Liam's eyes not so subtly scanned up and down my torso. I cleared my throat and his eyes snapped up to meet mine, a blush yet again appearing on his cheeks. 

"So uh I'm supposed to like douse it in cold water for 10 minutes or so if that's alright with you? That way it cools down and has less of a risk of infection... since it's not a major burn there's no need to go to hospital or anything. Like o said this happens all the time, at least once or twice a month. Normally it's just the employees getting burned though." Liam spoke, filling up several coffee mugs at the small sink in the corner of the room. I nodded giving him the okay to do so, however awkward it would be. At least I had ten uninterrupted minutes with an attractive man. 

"Do you want to like lie on the floor? That way it doesn't drip down on your trousers? Unless you are uncomfortable with that. In that case I can lend you an extra pair of mine if they get wet or-"

"Liam it's fine. I'll lay on the floor, yeah?" I jumped off the stool and onto the floor, gently laying back onto the concrete as Liam filled up a few more mugs. When he decided he had enough water to "properly treat the burn" (his words not mine) he plopped himself next to me. 

"I'm gonna start now, alright?" I nodded and motioned for him to get on with it, hissing when the cold water hit the surface burn. 

"Fuck that hurts!" I mumbled, cringing as he started on with the next cup. "And we have to do this for ten minutes?" I asked in disbelief. I don't even know if I could make it for another 30 seconds. 

"Unfortunately. I'm so sorry by the way. This is all my fault." Liam stated, full of remorse. 

"Mate, it's completely fine. Just hurts like a mother. I don't blame you at all!" I stated as we moved on to the next mug. It was silent as Liam focused on the job at hand and I focused on not crying like a little bitch. After what felt like hours but was only ten minutes, Liam finally stopped pouring the water on me. He sat still, taking in shallow breaths as he stared at my torso. My breath hitches as his eyes moved up towards my lips. 

"Can I kiss you?" He breathed, almost a whisper. 

I weakly nodded my head in confirmation. He moved in slowly, hovering over my half-naked body and finally reached my lips. It was a chaste kiss, but by far the best one I've ever had. 

\- • - • - • - • - • - • - • - • - • - • - • - • - • 

Liam and I have been dating for a little over 5 months and I could not have been happier. We had spent practically every waking moment together that we weren't working or attending uni. It was amazing to say the least. And to make it even better, he'd asked me to move in with him last week, meaning that for the past 5 days I've been packing up all my shit in boxes and throwing away the things I didn't need. 

"Baaaaabe! Are you done yet? The lads will be here in half an hour or so to help us move you in." The lads were Harry, Louis, and Zayn. Before Liam I never really had many friends, which was more of a confidence issue for me than anything else, so having four guys come into my life and welcome me into their friendship was absolutely sick. 

A few days after Liam and I had started dating, he invited me to hang out at his house and meet a few of his friends. I of course said yes, anything to spend more time with him without sounding clingy. We'd arrived to find a tall man swinging a shorter one around the room, both of them smiling through their tears. 

It turns out that the shorter one was Liam's adopted brother Louis who had just gotten back from training to be in the Royal Air Force. Liam's mum and dad had adopted Louis when he had arrived at their doorstep as an infant, a few years before Liam was born. Last year Louis had signed up for the RAF and undergone a 30 week training course. He was finally being reunited with his boyfriend Harry as of today. After they wiped their tears Louis came over to speak to me. 

"Hey mate! Lovely to meet ya! I'm Louis, that's Harry, and you seem to already be pinning over my brother Liam." 

I sucked in some air and had a quick glance over at Liam who was on the opposite side of the room chatting to someone on the phone. I turned back to Louis, slightly puffing my chest out. 

"Yeah." Yeah? How fucking stupid Niall. I should've said something like what are you gonna do about it...whatever the moment has passed. 

Louis' eyes sparkled in amusement. "Just don't hurt him, alright? He's a good kid." 

I nodded quickly. "Of course." 

"Really?" Liam asked the other person on the phone, excitement clearly taking over. I walked over to him, listening to him say his goodbyes. 

"So it turns out that Zayn's shoot ended early today and he's coming round in 10 minutes or so. Originally I was just going to have you meet him later on when he was free but since his schedule is cleared he wants to take us out to lunch. Said it was his treat." Liam explained, plopping onto the couch. Harry and Louis quickly followed suit and eventually the four of us were squeezed onto the small sofa awaiting Zayn's arrival. 

Before coming over Liam had explained how he and Zayn had been best mates since primary school. They grew up at each other's houses and tell each other everything and anything. When they graduated sixth form, Zayn had apparently been scouted for a modeling company while at a Man U game and it had only gone up from there. These days he modeled for the likes of Armani and Calvin Klein. It was needless to say that I was nervous to meet him. I'd seen a few of his most recent ads and was blown away. 

"While we're waiting we should play a good old game of truth or dare!" Louis declared, untangling himself from Harry's arms to lay on the floor in front of us. Harry groaned and Liam rolled his eyes, but they both shuffled their way into the floor and Liam nodded me over. 

"So normal rules lads. I'll go first. Harry, truth or dare?" Louis asked innocently. I glanced over to see Harry looking thoughtful, and mumbled out dare. Louis smiled evilly and declared, "I dare you to go commando for the rest of the game."

With a fond roll of the eyes, Harry stood up, but not before Louis smacked his arse. I watched in amusement as Louis snorted at Harry's reaction, setting off Liam, who's shaking frame caused a few chuckles to rise out of me. 

"Hey!" Harry cried indignantly, covering his butt as he ran to the loo. We chatted for what was only a few minutes before Harry walked out, wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. 

"For my go," Harry said, slowing looking around the room, "I choose Liam. Truth or dare mate?" Liam groaned, covering his eyes. 

"Guys nothing too bad, yeah? I've got work tomorrow morning and my mum is visiting around dinner time." 

I whipped my head over to look at Liam, shock evident on my features. With an embarrassed smile, Liam reached his arm back, scratching his neck. "Niall I was going to tell you when we got back. If you feel up to it tomorrow you could join us?" Liam asked with his puppy dog eyes. 

Now how the hell was I supposed to say no to that?

"Of course. I'd love to-"

"Would ya hurry the fuck up mate? We don't have all night to embarrass you!" Louis shouted. 

"Dare. Hit me with it." Liam said determinedly. 

Harry shot up with a smile on his face. "Perfect. Liam I dare you to drag Niall to the guest room and play 7 Minutes in Heaven." 

I felt my stomach drop, hands immediately becoming clammy. I could not go in there with Liam. He'd find out and I just wasn't ready to tell him. 

Liam looked over at me, a goofy smile on his face, and held out his hand to pull me up and off the floor. 

"That's it? Wow lads, you couldn't have picked a better dare!" He winked at me as he stood up, taking me with him. Louis wolf-whistled and Harry started letting out obnoxiously loud moans, causing my face to blush bright red. 

It wasn't like Liam and I hadn't kissed before, in fact we did it often, but we definitely hadn't taken it any further than that, per my request. 

I was pulled out of my thoughts when Liam pushed open the guest room door, leading me inside and straight to the bed. He had a wolffish grin on his face that made me squirm. I knew he'd never hurt me intentionally which is why I decided that now was as good of time as any. 

"Liam stop. I don't want this." I spoke, my voice barely above a whisper. He halted, worry and confusion flooding his features. He approached me cautiously, and sat down on the bed, grabbing my hand in his, caressing it with his thumb. 

"You don't...you don't want me?" Liam questioned, voicing cracking on the last word. I shook my head, feeling tears rush to my eyes and tried to blink them back, but it was useless. With a watery laugh I leaned into him, nuzzling my head onto his shoulder. 

"Of course I want you Li. How could I not. You're the most beautiful and caring man I've met..." I trailed off, not knowing what to say next. Taking a deep breath, I spilled out the secret that only I knew. 

"I'm-um I'm like asexual? I don't really...I experience romantic attraction and all that shit, but I don't really get aroused or anything. I know you are a handsome man but there is nothin in me that feels the need to shag you." By the last word I was trembling, my voice cracking in several place, and the tears were coming in a steady stream. 

"Okay...I want to say I understand but I don't-" I let out a whimper, interrupting him, "but I'm going to learn so I can. Niall, I'm willing to work for this relationship, yeah? You already mean a lot to me." I felt him intertwine his fingers with mine, and for the first time since my sexuality crisis I felt like I could breath.

I was brought back to present day by a loud shout coming from the front door, and I rolled my eyes as I made my way over to the boys. 

It'd been 5 months, give or take a week, since that night and Liam's understanding had grown tenfold. The boys knew what had happened that night, seeing as we had tear tracks on our faces and puffy eyes when we sat down to resume the game. 

"Why hello there dear friend of mine!" Harry shouted, pulling me in for a hug. 

I greeted him back, patting his shoulder before letting go to greet Louis, followed by Zayn. We chatted for a bit before deciding that it was finally time for us to start working, and with that we headed over to the dozens of boxes I had finished packing. 

"Shit mate! How much stuff are you bringing? I don't know if it's all going to fit in Liam's crappy little flat!" Louis hollered, taking two at a time out to his truck on the driveway. 

I grinned, and sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck, but knew he was pulling my leg. Liam's flat was absolutely massive due to a trust fund given to him by his grandparents when they had passed away, and a monthly check that his parents sent down to make sure he was well taken care of. Not to say that Liam wasn't doing that all on his own of course. In fact, he was graduating uni in less than a week and already had a job lined up. He'd majored in producing and was set to produce albums of several celebrities over the next couple of months and I couldn't be happier. Needless to say that all of my shit would fit and then-some. 

"Oi! We're not doing all the work Nialler! Get your arse out here and help us move your crap!" Zayn shouted from his place near the truck, heaving in the boxes that he had received from Harry and Louis. I looked around for Liam, and found him smiling at me fondly, before walking over to wrap me up in a hug. 

"Not that I'm not enjoying this," I said, "but what exactly are you doing this for?" 

"Just can't believe it's happening, ya know? l always dreamed about finding someone to wake up to every morning and here you a re Niall Horan, making my childhood dreams come true." He whispered, tucking his head down in between my neck and shoulder. I felt the giddiness rose inside of me, and pecked his forehead before untangling myself from the hug. 

"Where are you going? We were having a moment!" Liam shouted, a pout on his face. 

I laughed and yelled over my shoulder, "I'm going to help my friends move me in so that I can have you all to myself, love!" 

_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_•_

I plopped down onto the couch, my chest heaving. The lads had just left after pizza, which we had ordered to celebrate me finally being fully moved in. I closed my eyes as I felt Liam massage my head as he waned over the back of the sofa, pressing feather light kisses onto my head. 

"Welcome home baby."

I hummed and let myself come to terms with how amazing it was to be able to spend my days and nights with such an amazing man. 

And if I happened to propose a month later, then nobody has to know.


End file.
